The Voices in Her Head (No. 8)

Eight Becomes Katrine

Grace gathered all the children together in the kitchen.

Three, nearly four-year-old, Eight sat cross-legged on the table and tried to read Grace's mind to figure out what was going on, but she couldn't. She supposed it was because Grace wasn't human. That was the only logical explanation, as she could read her siblings minds. She tapped into her siblings' minds to see that they were as confused as she was.

Grace wasn't sure what to name the little girl, so she invested the help of the children. "Alright, what should we name your sister? I was thinking a Norwegian name, since that is where she's from. I hope you've all chosen a name you like."

Luther thought for a moment. "How about Anna?"

The little girl shook her head. "That's boring. I don't like it."

Diego frowned. "What about Caroline?"

Eight yawned and tried to say the name. "Too hard."

Allison was up. She immediately said, "Charlotte?"

Eight said the name and shook her head. "Too long."

Allison frowned before Klaus spoke up. "What about Evelyn? That's pretty."

Eight pouted and Klaus sighed. "I guess not."

Five went next. He studied the little girl and said, "You could just stay as Eight. Like me."

Eight shook her head. "No. I want a name. A number isn't a name."

If any of his other siblings said that, Five would be angry, but his little sister had a special place in his heart. Ben looked at Eight and said, "What about Hannah? That's pretty, and easy to say."

"I don't like it."

Vanya sighed. "You're very picky, Eight. How about Katrine? I've always liked that name."

The little girl smiled. "Katrine. Mommy, that's my new name! Thanks, Vonnie!"

Vanya hugged her little sister as Grace replied, "Very good. I'm glad you like your name, Katrine."

Diego tapped Katrine's shoulder. He was holding a dictionary and placed it on the table. He pointed to a name. "See this, Kat?"

She nodded and he continued. "That's your name. Katrine. What do you think it means?"

Katrine frowned. "Pretty?"

Diego smiled. "That's a really good guess, but it actually means pure or chaste."

"What do those words mean?"

"Pure basically means nothing is mixed with it. Like pure gold. Chaste, well, I'll tell you when you're older."

He immediately blocked the thought from his mind so Katrine couldn't find out. Luckily, she hadn't tapped into the ability to force thoughts from people.
He didn't doubt that she could do such a thing, she just had to learn.

[I was originally going to have Diego choose her name, but decided it should be Vanya, as Katrine was the only one to actively spend time with Vanya when they were kids.

Also, Diego is so sweet with her.]